Friday, August 21, 2015

Europe hit by one of the worst droughts since 2003 (report)

Much of the European continent was affected by severe drought in June
and July 2015, one of the worst since the drought and heat wave of
summer 2003, according to the latest report by the European Commission's
Joint Research Center.The drought, which particularly affected
France, Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg), Germany,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, northern Italy and northern Spain, was
caused by a combination of prolonged rain shortages since April and
exceptionally high temperatures, said the report.

Satellite
imagery and modeling revealed that the drought had already affected soil
moisture content and vegetation conditions in June.

Areas with the largest rainfall deficits also recorded exceptionally high maximum daily temperatures.

In
the entire Mediterranean region, and particularly in Spain, the heat
wave was even longer than that of 2003, with maximum daily temperatures
consistently above 30 degrees Celsius for durations of 30 to 35 days.

While
sectors such as tourism, viticulture and solar energy benefited from
the unusually warm conditions, many environmental and production sectors
suffered due to water restrictions, agricultural losses, disruptions to
inland water transport, and increased wildfires, said the report.

Rainfall is urgently needed in the coming months to offset the negative impacts of the drought situation.

The
current weather forecast envisages more rain for the Mediterranean
region in September, but there is no relief expected for parts of
western, central and eastern Europe, said the report.Xinhua - globaltimes.cn21/8/15---Related:

EL KAOS UT

The UN has imposed a 2013 deadline for the submission of scientific claims to the Arctic seabed. It is the precursor to a resource boom which would see Canada, the US, Russia, Norway and Greenland all attempt to exploit the region's resources.